Remembrances

Transgender Performer In 'Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil' Dies At 59

7:49am September 09, 2016

The flamboyant transgender performer, The Lady Chablis, played a memorable role in author John Berendt's best-selling book and movie about a murder trial in Savannah, Georgia.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Anna Dewdney, Author Of Beloved 'Llama Llama' Children's Books, Dies

5:40pm September 07, 2016

Anna Dewdney, author of a popular series of children's books that included Llama Llama Red Pajama and Llama Llama Mad at Mama died this week at age 50. She was beloved for her writing as well as her illustrations.

Conservative Activist Phyllis Schlafly Dies At 92

4:35pm September 06, 2016

by Brian Naylor

Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly has died. Schalfly championed traditional roles for women and led opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. She helped move the Republican Party to the right on issues including abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Phyllis Schlafly, Who Opposed Equal Rights Amendment, Dies At 92

12:03pm September 06, 2016

Schlafly may best be remembered for her efforts in 1973 to stop the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Steve Inskeep talks to Penny Young Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America.

Queue Listen Now

Tuskegee Airman, Martin Luther King Jr. Bodyguard Dies at 93

6:05pm September 05, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Dabney Montgomery served as a ground crewman with the Tuskegee Airman in Italy in World War II. He joined the civil rights movement when he came home, and protected King during the march from Selma.

NPR Commentator Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor Dies At 79

5:14am September 05, 2016

Writer, actor, and longtime NPR contributor Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor died Saturday at age 79. She wrote vividly of her roots in South Carolina, and of course, her love of food and cooking.

Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor was from lowland South Carolina and a native speaker of Gullah Geechee, a form of creole English.

Arts

Remembering Culinary Griot And NPR Commentator Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

6:24pm September 04, 2016

by Jacki Lyden

Smart-Grosvenor contributed hundreds of commentaries to NPR, often about her culinary explorations and travels. She died Saturday at age 79.

Queue Listen Now

Podcast Extra: Juan Gabriel And The Tricky Conversation About Sexual Identity

11:29pm September 03, 2016

by Adrian Florido

Many remembrances of Mexican vocalist Juan Gabriel suggested that he overcame homophobia in Mexico to achieve super-stardom. The reality is a bit more complicated.

Jerry Heller, seen here at a 2005 event in Hollywood, Calif., has died at age 75, according to multiple reports.

Jerry Heller, Music Mogul Who Worked With N.W.A, Dies At 75

4:30pm September 03, 2016

by Bill Chappell

A native of Shaker Heights in Cleveland, Ohio, Jerry Heller worked with rock stars as an agent, promoter and manager before meeting a young rapper named Eazy-E.

Religion

'She's Been A Saint For All Of Us': Friend Remembers Mother Teresa

4:32pm September 02, 2016

Mother Teresa officially becomes a Catholic saint on Sunday. NPR's Ari Shapiro introduces us to a woman who was friends with the nun for years and worked with her in Kolkata, India.

Queue Listen Now